Trials by Dragon fire
by HeathenVampires
Summary: Drabbles and one shots. Mostly Eret-centric with elements of Hicretstrid scattered all the way through. Post HTTYD2. The trials and tribulations of Eret, son of Eret learning to be a dragon rider, a Hooligan and how to move on from his past.
1. Chapter 1

**The great and wonderful AvannaK gave me a list of Hicretstrid prompts, and I am going to fail miserably but try to fulfill them anyway.**

 **The series will be Eret-centric, and range from platonic to more depending how I feel it flows.**

-HTTYD-

"... factor all that in plus the speed and venom and Terrible Terrors are actually almost as dangerous as..."

Eret tuned out Fishlegs for a moment. He was eager as could be to _really_ learn about dragons, but gods could the Gronckle rider _talk._

Chief Hiccup had, very kindly, allowed Eret access to their weird yet wonderful system known as 'Terror Mail', where they literally tied mail to a dragon the size of a cat and sent it off.

"I thought maybe you could use them to maybe write to your shipmates. Or we could go flying, find them ourselves."

Hiccup offered, but Eret declined.

"The mail works fine. Those guys will survive another few days without me, I picked the best sailors yanno. Besides, you have a whole lot more to be getting on with chief, and me and Skullcrusher here aren't really at the long voyage stage just yet."

"If you're sure..."

Eret waved off Hiccup's concerns, hoping the chief will get back to... chiefing. Every minute he spends with Eret, putting time and effort into an ex trapper who wasn't really _worth_ saving, those minutes could be spent on Berk. Berk needed Hiccup far more than Eret did.

Well, maybe not needed. Gods, Eret needed forgiveness and friendship like he needed air. But Berk _deserved_ their chief more.

The chief, with his youthful face already hardened by responsibility a mere three days after the Alpha fight nodded and turned away. He stopped, then turned back.

"You can have today to work with the Terrors and write your letters. Tomorrow you're on ice patrol with Astrid and the other Dragon Riders. You guys make sense, since you all ride fire breathing reptiles."

Something about his words made Eret as happy as they did nauseous. He waited for Hiccup to leave the academy, jumping up on his Night Fury and soaring off toward the village, then dropped to the floor and wrapped his arms around his knees, hugging himself. Skullcrusher padded over on his huge paws, nudging sos gently with his horned head it was hard to believe the Rumblehorn had been named for his hard skull.

Hiccup was counting him as a _dragon rider._ Not five days ago, Eret had been despising them and all their kind. Then Stormfly had to go and save his life and throw Eret's whole world view out. Standing against Drago had been easy after that - Eret was a man of conviction, of loyalty to his cause. He just feared he had followed the wrong cause for _so long_ he was beyond redemption.

Eret wrote his letter for the crew, but as soon as he opened the box to choose a Terrible Terror, he was besieged by dozens (ok, maybe one dozen) of cat-sized dragons, who all wanted his attention at once. A couple nipped at exposed arms, but mostly they crawled all over him, sniffing and purring and nuzzling.

A light, happy laugh he felt deep in his bones touched his ears, unsure he could turn his head but knowing he would find Astrid if he did.

"The mighty dragon wrangler has been defeated! By Terrible Terrors!"

She continued laughing, helping to swat away a couple but Eret was sort of enjoying them after a couple of minutes. They were remarkably cat-like. Eret liked cats.

"Ah, I surrendered pretty easy. They remind me of my old ship-cat."

 _"You_ had a cat?"

Astrid plopped down in front of him, tossing a fish from the barrel to Stormfly - Eret had a soft spot for the Nadder who extended her trust to him - then Skullcrusher, and prepared to listen in. Her golden hair caught the sun perfectly and Eret knew a moments breathless awareness that the chief was a lucky man, then turned his mind back to his old pet.

"He was the mightiest ship cat in the Archipelago. Eret, cat of Eret. Finest stowaway rat hunter there's ever been. Plus he..."

Eret trailed off, the weakness of paralyzing fear washing through him out of nowhere. Skullcrusher huffed and bumped his shoulder, the Terrors all started nuzzling him more tenderly and he felt a warm hand brush the back of his own.

"Eret? You ok?"

"Yeah. Uh, yeah. Fine. Just remembering."

"Remembering... what?"

"He uh... he stayed by my side the whole time I was healing from this. Drago branded me and it hurt, but that cat stayed with me through the fever, the pain and helped me get back on my feet when I was on the road to recovery."

"Well, there's nothing else for it."

Astrid's voice was rather matter of fact, but Eret wasn't sure what she was getting at.

"Nothing else for what?"

"We're going to get lunch. This sadness can be fixed by a stiff yak broth and some mead. Pick your Terror, let's go."

Bemused, Eret picked the Terror currently draped around his neck, a purple one that somehow seemed to be sporting a mischievous grin. Astrid handed him the little rope cuff to tuck the letter in, and Eret described his boat as best he could, pointed to the compass-point he had the best guess of the likely trail his crew would have taken back to port to fix their ship - the Berkians had done a number on their sails.

"Ok then. Lunch?"

Eret wasn't blind. He knew the locals were wary of him, even when some had let him carry their children to safety when the Bewilderbeast attacked. Still, Astrid and the other riders sat with him, ate lunch and included him in their conversation. Skullcrusher was perched next to Cloudjumper, sharing a pile of still wet tuna, freshly caught.

Cloudjumper's rider was sat with Hiccup, deep in conversation about something. She gave Eret's newly-gifted dragon a smile, but the lips pursed and tightened when she saw Eret. He guessed he deserved that - he had been prepared to fight "the dragon thief" to the death before. Before he knew.

Hiccup followed her gaze, and _he_ offered Eret a friendly, genuine smile. It soothed his nerves after Astrid's lunch invitation - the chief and his betrothed were backing him. Eret could convince the others. Turning to Fishlegs, he started listening in properly as the large man waxed poetic about all the reasons he loved Gronckles above any other.

"There's nothing like a well placed tail bludgeon!"

-HTTYD-

 **I'm not sure this is any good at all but I have finally begun to flex my Eret muscles I guess? Hopefully this little drabble/one shot series improves. Don't hold your breath... I'm not promising.**


	2. Chapter 2

**thank you to reviewers - even the mad one - for responding to this! On we go with the Eret stuff.**

 **I'm still new at this, so try to bear with me while I get the hang of writing something that's not hardcore smut or just super gay stuff.**

-HTTYD-

 _This doesn't seem like the best idea._

Eret wasn't one to complain about a rough place to sleep... he had slept in thunderstorms before. The Dragon Academy, with it's limited damage being out of the way when Drago attacked, was rather pleasant actually. It was flat and didn't get too drafty.

However... with the Haddock house almost completely totalled, Eret was sharing the Academy with Chief Hiccup - that was fine - and his mother. His mother who would still clearly like it if Eret weren't so close to her late husbands dragon. Eret knew he had no right to dispute her concerns, but that didn't make it easier to relax around her.

Astrid meandered in about an hour after dark, smiling to herself fondly when she saw Cloudjumper and Toothless both curled around where Valka and Hiccup had fallen asleep next to each other, talking themselves to sleep. Eret was still awake, listening to Skullcrusher snore lightly and wondering, not for the first time, if he _really_ had a place with the Hooligans.

Spying the ex-trapper with open eyes, Astrid plopped down next to him.

"Can't sleep?"

"Not a wink."

Astrid's eyes looked over at Valka, then back to Eret.

"She'll come around. Haddock's are stubborn, but fair. You prove yourself and she'll believe in you the way Hiccup does. Besides, Hiccup took you on. You're not getting out now."

"You think?"

Astrid bumped his shoulder with her own, then smiled.

"I do. Now I have to go wriggle in between Hiccup and Toothless, so I demand you get some sleep."

Astrid brushed her hand across Eret's hair, then crept over to where her fiance and his mother slumbered, managing to finagle her way in the small space. Eret felt a pang of loneliness, which was soothed by the huge dragon next to him who had clearly taken Eret on board despite his own loss.

He did manage to drop off eventually, waking before the sun rose to find he was the first up. Well, him and Skullcrusher, who was attempting to reach an itch just behind his head-scales. Eret didn't even hesitate to reach for him, scrubbing his nails over the thick skin and smiling as the Rumblehorn sighed happily.

"Fancy a flight?"

Never did Eret think he would be saying such things, but Skullcrusher nodded and followed him out of the arena for a better take-off point.

"Let's take this slow ok? Consider this a getting-to-know-you flight buddy."

Skullcrusher took his words to heart, the initial surge up into the air easing out into a gentle flight that let Eret see the sunrise as he never had before, seeing the sky up close as shades of orange and red split the dark, the faint purple of dawn becoming the soft blue of morning before they went back down.

"And here was me thinking Stormfly and I had the corner of early flying."

Astrid yawned into her hand, leaning against an equally sleepy Hiccup while Valka was stroking her dragon in morning greeting.

"We woke up early and went for a nice, quiet lap around the island. Is... is that ok?"

Hiccup smiled sleepily, rubbing a hand through his disheveled hair.

"He's _your_ dragon Eret, you don't need my permission to fly him. Unless I tell you otherwise."

"Uh, thanks then."

"We'll start you on training once the ice and repairs are sorted, then you can start thinking about stuff like long distances or dragon racing. For now... breakfast!"

The dragons grumbled in agreement, Toothless offering Astrid a gummy grin when asked if he minded flying both Hiccup and herself to breakfast. They were some of the first in the Great Hall, sleepily chatting over yak milk, eggs and jerky while the dragons got stuck in to their fish.

Hiccup assigned Eret to work with Astrid and Fishlegs on home repairs, then sent the Zippleback twins and Snotlout to removing the larger chunks of ice from bigger structures.

"Try to only destroy what you're supposed to, there's not much left standing as it is."

"No promises!"

"What are you doing then babe?"

Eret shamelessly eavesdropped on Astrid and Hiccup, looking as though he were cleaning up after himself to keep his eyes downcast while Valka was around.

"Working with mom to sort out the dragon pens. They weren't damaged much but when that Alpha pulled them all to him, the dragons busted out. Toothless can keep them calm, Cloudjumper can do heavier lifting. I'll see you for lunch milady."

"You had better" Astrid leant in, kissed her lover and then turned to the awkward Eret "now you, with me."

Eret followed - with little choice as Astrid had grabbed his arm to pull him along - and Fishlegs wasn't far behind. The larger man eagerly chattered away to Eret about the specifics of why different Boulder Class dragons couldn't eat some rocks that others could, launching into a full rendition about the Catastrophic Quaken. He remembered Drago mentioning those from back when he had employed Viggo and Ryker Grimborn... they were excellent rock miners, but didn't have a real appetite for destruction.

Awaiting orders, Astrid gave him a bag of tools and set him chipping away ice fragments from the less damaged homes. It was painful work when he cut his hands repeatedly, but Eret didn't let a word of complaint out as he wrapped cloth over the cuts, kept working until Astrid said they could break for lunch.

When the chief saw his hands, he frowned deeply and led Eret over to the table full of various healing pastes and herbs, pushing him into a seat and peeling the makeshift bandages off.

"Mom, could you feed Toothless and the others for me? I'm just gonna patch Eret up."

Eret got the distinct feeling Valka wondered why he bothered, but she said nothing of the sort and headed to fill the fish bowls as Hiccup usually would. Hiccup's fingers were rough and well-worked, showing his time spent not only on dragons but in the forge. Still, his touch was gentle and careful as he cleaned, pasted and properly bandaged Eret's hands.

"You, mister, do not need to bleed everywhere on some personal mission to impress me. Alright?"

"I'm _fine._ I've had worse."

His hand twitched toward his chest, rubbing the scar that had phantom pains shoot through it when he let himself think too hard about the branding. Hiccup placed his hand over Eret's, tips of warm, slender fingers brushing one of the slightly raised lines of tissue.

"That's not what life here is about Eret. Please, don't burn yourself out."

"I'll try, but I'm still gonna work. I gotta kill time until the Terror comes back somehow or I'll start worrying too hard about my crew."

"Try not to get your bandages wet, but you should be fine so long as you don't touch anything sharp. Put some gloves on and take cart duty moving the ice away instead for the afternoon, rather than breaking shards of ice."

"You got it chief. And... thank you."

Hiccup's fingers flexed against his own, then pulled away and Eret wasn't sure whether or not he missed the gentle touch a little too much.

Trading with Seamus, Eret spent the afternoon hefting chunks of ice into wheeled carts and pushing them out of the way. Berk already looked a little less frozen, bits of green, soggy grass and dirt paths showing up. Some houses had even been completely rebuilt, meaning several Vikings could return to their own homes.

That evening, exhausted but feeling relatively accomplished as he crawled into his bedrolls that night, Eret felt just a tiny bit more hopeful. Even after hearing "outsider" muttered under Vikings breaths, felt the stares of many on him during mealtimes.

Even after Ruffnut said she was no longer in love with him. _Especially_ after Ruffnut said she was no longer in love with him, in fact.

Rolling on his back, Eret stared up at the stars, smelt the damp air of an island surrounded by sea and covered in ice. It was homely in a way to the sailor, Berk smelling like open ocean even when it was on solid ground.

The words struck something in his chest, a tiny revelation rolling through him.

 _Berk felt like home already._

Eret hadn't had a home other than his ship for a long time, not since his parents were killed by dragons. After everything he had learnt about Drago, everything he had seen of his methods... he certainly didn't blame the reptiles anymore. Drago would definitely had smashed Eret's homeland to pieces, or anyone elses, then recruited the survivors under the guise of getting revenge on dragons, protecting people from going through what he had.

It took time, but Eret saw through it now. Hiccup's words when he first told the chief about his parents would stay with him a long time.

" _Family isn't just something you're born into. It's the friends who stand with you, the ones who fight by your side."_

He wanted to deserve a family again.

-HTTYD-

 **Eret-feels!**

 **Next chapter will contain more about his cat, if you were wondering.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Dannrose - Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Time for another little Eret ditty before I get elbow deep in the *counts* seven things I have to write between active stories and recent prompts.**

-HTTYD-

Eret didn't realise being a dragon rider and being a _Dragon Rider_ were so different.

Still waiting on the Terror's finding his crew, Eret spent much of his time helping Astrid rebuild homes and following Hiccup around like a lost puppy.

They finally had an afternoon 'off', cycling the workers on repair to ensure nobody burnt themselves out. Hiccup and Astrid took him flying, training his riding skills and helping strengthen his connection with Skullcrusher.

He felt sortof like he was intruding on a date, Hiccup and Astrid's easy, natural relationship obvious even in mid-air as they soared and zipped about. They both included him effortlessly, but Eret still felt very much a third wheel.

"I'm gonna head back, check on Dragon School to make sure the twins and Snotlout aren't running Fishlegs ragged."

"You want company?"

"Nah, you and Eret can keep going. I'll see you later babe. You too Hiccup."

"Hey!"

Eret could only awkwardly flush as Astrid winked, kissed her boyfriend and hopped back on her Nadder to take off toward Berk. Hiccup and Toothless turned back to them, grinning.

"Alright. Time to teach you to be a _real_ rider."

Skullcrusher huffed, but growled in agreement.

"Now, admittedly your dragon has done this before, but he knows it's as important to train the rider as it is the dragon. So he's not gonna be naughty are you Skullcrusher?"

A Rumblehorn could smash Berk to bits with his head alone, and Hiccup was talking to him like a puppy. It was remarkable.

"I'll take that scowl as a yes. Right, let's go do some tree dodging. This is as much about trust as skill, you'll want to oversteer but you have to trust he doesn't want to hit the trees anymore than you do."

Eret nodded, following the Night Fury Alpha and Berk Chief to an unremarkable clearing surrounded by trees.

"No showing off Toothless, Eret is new."

The dragon chuckled, tongue lolling toward Eret as he shook out his wings then turned toward the trees. Eret was absolutely nervous, even atop a dragon, but he wanted to learn. Patting the side of his dragon, Eret whispered.

"Let's do this buddy."

Skullcrusher spread his wings, roared happily and took off after Hiccup through the trees. They pelted past at an alarming rate, Skullcrushers huge body surely too big to fit so well through gaps that barely seemed to last a blink. At first he tried to nudge the dragon into what seemed the safest way, but each time Skullcrusher ignored him they were still alive after and Eret began to understand.

 _Trust the dragon._

It even started to be fun after a few heart-stopping near misses, just enjoying the wind and the speed and letting the trust in Skullcrusher flow. He heard Hiccup laugh, saw a few flashes of purple that almost made him nervous but then they reached the other end of the trees, finding Hiccup and Toothless grinning happily as they waited.

"Leaves in your hair and a few scratches... better than Snotlout or the twins first time. Or second time. Or _tenth_ time, for that matter."

"Really? Cool."

"Yep. Get some water, then we'll work on diving."

Eret blinked.

"In the water?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes, but the smile was fond rather than annoyed or exasperated.

"No! Toothless can't swim that well with the whole prosthetic tailfin anyway. Sky diving."

"Oh. Ok then. Come on Skullcrusher."

Diving was... frankly quite terrifying. It felt like the dragon was going to vanish from beneath him at any second, the safety of earth a dizzying distance away and the air whistled by so fast Eret felt like his skin would be frozen off.

And yet... it was _exhilarating._ His heart pounded in his chest and blood pumped harder, Skullcrusher showed off his stopping skills without ever dislodging his rider and Eret honestly couldn't remember ever having so much _fun._

"That was **awesome."**

"Yeah it was. You're good! Now lets go get Astrid and head over to get some dinner. Man I can't wait til Haddock central is rebuilt so we can eat without every other villager. A chief needs to breathe."

They headed back toward the Academy, Eret knowing he would be relegated to eating with the other Riders or alone. Valka wouldn't want him there if it were Haddock family meals, nor did he really belong there.

"Eret! I think your Terror is back."

Sure enough, the cat-like dragon scuttled straight onto Eret's shoulder and chirruped noisily, nuzzling Eret's head and he couldn't help smiling.

"Aww, you made a friend."

Eret rubbed the dragon head, then slipped the note free from his leg cuff.

"Yep. My crew said they'll be at the usual port by the end of the week. So... I'll need to take off tomorrow for a couple of days."

"Not a problem Eret."

Wanting to make up for their hospitality, Eret waited for Hiccup, Astrid and Valka to bunk down in the Academy, claiming call of nature as he left just before they fell asleep. He grabbed some supplies and headed to the half-done Haddock home. He could go on little sleep, but he needed to show his appreciation somehow.

"Come on Skullcrusher, lets do some quiet renovations."

Thanks to the distance between the chief hut and others, the fact Vikings slept like the dead and the fact anyone who was awake didn't question him, Eret managed to repair the damage to all four external walls of the Haddock home. He barely got two hours sleep before sunrise and Toothless woke he and a not-thrilled Skullcrusher up, but it was worth it to see the surprise on Hiccup's face.

"Who..."

"It was the trapper chief. Saw him."

"Uh, thanks Seamus." Hiccup turned to Eret on the way to breakfast "you rebuilt my house?"

"I wanted to make sure nobody thought I was slacking by leaving."

"But when did you do this? You didn't... You didn't work all night right?"

Eret rubbed his neck self-consciously.

"Not _all_ night, no."

Valka gave him an unreadable look over Hiccup's shoulder, making Eret distinctly unsettled but Hiccup's broad smile soothed him somewhat.

"Thank you. Honestly."

Eret shrugged, shuffled his feet awkwardly and gestured up at the Hall.

"Breakfast?"

"Absolutely. And since I can see some mighty big footprints that tell me you helped, extra mackerel for you Skullcrusher."

Rumblehorn joy roared out, the hefty dragon practically _bounced_ up the stairs to get the extra fish promised. Eret felt the long night quite quickly, but kept his mind on work until Hiccup told him he could catch a break. He didn't nap, knowing it would throw off his sleep pattern.

That night when they were done with dinner, Eret made to head for the Academy.

"Where are you going?"

"Uh, my bed in the Academy?"

"Don't be daft. Come on. I mean, you'll have to crash on the sofa or the floor since I don't see my mother offering to snuggle with you" a growl from behind them suggested this was true "but you're not sleeping outside when ya don't have to. Especially when you helped rebuild said home."

"Oh. Uh. Thanks chief."

What was he supposed to say? No? It wasn't a long term fix anyway - he would be leaving to get his boat soon, and he could move back on to that. The embers of the fire kept the room he slept in warm, Skullcrusher joining Cloudjumper and Stormfly in the outer stables for the night. There was space for the Rumblehorn in his cabin, assuming Skullcrusher opted to stay with him rather than the other dragons.

Eret got up that morning early, knowing that when everyone else woke they would want the room he was in.

"Not trying to disappear without a trace are ya?"

Astrid, fully dressed and more alert than the hour really allowed, caught Eret tidying up his bedrolls.

"Just making sure I'm not in anyones way."

"Good. Because Hiccup and I agreed that you aren't going off alone."

Mid-yawn, Eret took a second to process her words.

"Huh?"

"When you go to find your crew. We aren't having you vanish on us with your top class tracker dragon so we can't find you. And no arguing... Hooligans are the most stubborn of all Vikings."

"Wait. I'm not taking Hiccup away from his tribe."

"Of course not. _I'm_ going with you."

Eret didn't know how to argue, not with a stubborn, resolute Astrid.

"I don't want you going out of your way for me."

"That's what a tribe does for each other silly. Now... let's get started with breakfast."

Having learnt to feed himself on the ship, Eret let Astrid order him about to make breakfast. By the time Hiccup and Valka appeared - within minutes of each other, but from different bedrooms - they were already halfway through their own.

"I'll go take the dragons to eat from the feeding stations while you guys eat up."

"Thanks Eret. You don't mind him walking Cloudjumper right mom?"

"Hmm."

Valka didn't _agree_ outright, but she didn't disagree either and Eret supposed her dragon needed to eat either way. He left with four dragons in tow, strolling across the quiet town plaza to ensure the Haddock dragons and Skullcrusher both got something to eat.

"Hey you, you better not be leaving without me."

Astrid caught up with him there, holding two bags in her hands and she was clearly dressed to go. Even tossed Eret a new fur vest for the trip.

"I haven't gone anywhere!"

"Good. I packed provisions, for us and the dragons. Toothless, Cloudjumper, your humans will meet you at the forge. You, Eret son of Eret, and I are off to find your boat."

Eret didn't argue, just loaded his saddlebag on and hopped on his dragon. He might be new to Hooligan life, but he already knew not to argue with Astrid.

-HTTYD-

 **I promised more of Eret's cat this chapter but this ended up longer than I planned. So... Eret, cat of Eret will definitely be in the next one.**


	4. Chapter 4

**You may or may not have noticed I've been writing many one shot things, and I realised I had been neglecting this!**

-HTTYD-

"So... which way are we going again? Back... I guess I never asked if you have a home, we just sort of kidnapped you as a Hooligan."

"Not for a long time. Where I grew up was under threat by dragons... I don't even doubt that Drago was behind that now. My mom was killed when I was eight, my dad when I was fifteen. I spent a year learning to build boats, fix sails and finish my sword fighting training, then I took off sailing with Ug. We acquired a couple of friends along the way, and then when Drago said he wanted to stop people being hurt by dragons, I believed him."

Eret remembered that heartbreaking moment where he realised he had been wrong, when Stormfly had put her life on the line for Eret. Even then, he hadn't been as sure as he was when Hiccup forgave Toothless. Drago hadn't wanted to protect anyone but himself. Dragons were amazing.

He looked down at the beefy beast between his legs, feeling the steady wingbeats as he trusted Eret to guide him safely into no harm. The trust Skullcrusher put in him was breathtaking.

"I'm sorry you lost them."

"Was a long time ago."

"Hiccup thought his mom was dead his whole life. Twenty years. It's never too long ago to _care_ Eret."

Eret couldn't picture that... he missed his mother terribly, but to never have known her? And then their chief had lost his father only a heartbeat later.

"I guess so. Thanks. Anyway... just keep going North until we hit some sea stacks in the shape of a square."

"Then what?"

"Then we go East."

"More than a days flight?"

Eret had never flown the trip before, so he couldn't be sure but it was a few days sailing for certain.

"Probably, why?"

"Well, we'll have to find a spot to camp for the night. Don't worry, I packed sleep gear."

"Separate?"

"Eret!"

He winked. Astrid held her frown for a second longer than he felt confident with, but then broke out into a grin.

"You're lucky you're on a dragon sailor, or I'd whip your ass. Yes, separate sleeping Eret!"

He breathed an internal sigh of relief; Astrid could take a playful joke. She was going to need it on the ship, though Eret would hold a sword on his crew before he let them actually get near Astrid. She would too, but something about Astrid and Hiccup made Eret protective. They accepted him so easily, and he wanted to cherish that as best his old, battered, unused heart could.

Plus he wasn't exactly Valka's favourite person. He had to prove himself redeemed in her eyes before anything else, because if there was one thing as important as dragons to Hiccup, it was the women in his life. Astrid seemed content enough to trust him as soon as Stormfly did... maybe he should start feeding Cloudjumper more often. Granted, the Stormcutter still scared the wits out of him - most dragons shot fireballs, Cloudjumper shot a constant stream of blazing heat. And he was _huge,_ with his hefty body and two-become-four wings.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Hmm?"

Eret jolted out of his thoughts to find Astrid looking at him expectantly.

"I'm guessing you were lost in your thoughts? Or you've been ignoring me for the past twenty minutes. So... what were you thinking about?"

He sighed, shifting slightly in the saddle when Skullcrusher slowed to avoid a passing seagull that apparently wasn't afraid of dragons.

"Hiccups mom. She still doesn't want me on Berk."

"She doesn't know you yet. You just gotta work at it. I mean, she was suspicious of Hiccup before she realised who he was. She didn't believe Stoick would make peace with dragons. You forget, where do you think Hiccup got his stubbornness from?"

Eret didn't know Stoick well enough to be sure he wasn't just as stubborn, though he deeply wished he could have known the man.

"I know. Just makes it hard to feel... settled."

"Don't worry about it. How do you think I feel? This woman has no idea who I am, except that I'm going to marry her son!"

Eret chuckled at that, Astrid's vehement outburst as she reached down into her saddlebag and tossed a chicken leg to Stormfly, then a tuna to Skullcrusher. Next she chucked a cloth bundle to Eret, finding yak jerky inside it.

"Eat and fly?"

Holding up a chunk of jerky for herself, Astrid nodded.

"You'll get used to it. We got another hour or so before we need to water the dragons, but I'm hungry now."

They continued on in relative silence, sounds of chewing the only ones they made while waves crashed onto rocks and passing dragons roared nearby. Astrid pointed out each species, teaching Eret names he knew and personality quirks he didn't. He had only really known which dragons were dangerous and how not to be killed by them. Berkians were teaching him new, real stuff about dragons constantly.

"Despite the fact they eat eels and don't really like to socialise, we've never had much trouble with Typhoomerangs. Even Tuffnut trained a Typhoomerang once... and Ruff trained a Scauldron."

Eret listened on rapturously, even as they landed and the dragons drank, then they looked at the sky and agreed they should find a campsite on the island they stopped on. A patch of trees offered weather protection, there was easy access to water and enough space for all four of them.

"Is Ruffnut still trying to molest you?"

"No, thank Thor. I think saving her life really sent her toward Fishlegs and Snotlout."

"Let's hope that sticks. I actually think it would take two men to keep her busy, I just always assumed one would be Tuffnut helping her blow stuff up."

Eret chewed on Astrid's words as he set up his bedroll, then cringed.

"I... I don't wanna think about that."

"Hmm. Fair point. Least you won't have to _hear_ about it. Shortage of girl friends."

Astrid dropped heavily onto her bedroll, setting up a spit to grill fish over their campfire and he watched her face catch the light, all friendly smiles and open laughter. He couldn't help smiling back, frying up some of the vegetables she packed to accompany the fish.

"Oh my gods, this is amazing! You can cook?"

"Had to. Glad you like it. These are good too."

"I'm not as good as Hiccup, but... better than Valka. The woman is amazing, but do not let her feed you. It's not worth your life!"

Eret had already heard that a couple of times, but Astrid seemed to be making light of it more than everyone else.

"Noted."

Astrid fell asleep first, axe next to her as she slept only six inches from Eret's bedroll. He watched her for a little while, just enjoying the quiet broken only by the occasional crackle of the doused fire, dragons snoring and the occasional roar in the distance. He fell asleep eventually, waking to a surprising sight of Astrid next to him. He nudged her gently, watching her confused awakening.

"Must have gotten cold. Sorry."

Eret quirked an eyebrow.

"For not freezing to death?"

"Exactly. Now... you go fill our canteens, I'm gonna go find a private spot and then we'll be off again after a quick breakfast."

Eret did as instructed, taking their canteens to the nearby river and taste testing it before he filled them. Clean water had a very distinctive taste, soothing his dry throat and washing away some of the sleep from his brain when he splashed his face with it. He took a second to find some privacy himself, relieved his bladder and returned to find Astrid throwing together a hasty breakfast over the fire.

They were back in the air within half an hour, knowing they would reach his old port by the end of the day. Astrid kept up the casual chatter, they stopped for food and water early afternoon, and then Eret finally saw the old sight of his crews sails.

"Eret, son of Eret!"

They all looked surprised to see him alive despite the fact he had sent them mail, greeting him rather energetically while giving their dragons a bit of a wide berth. Astrid stayed leant against Stormfly, until from the corner of his eye Eret saw a smoky grey puff zip past their legs and leap up at Astrid, purring.

"I'm guessing this is Eret, cat of Eret?"

"The very one. Miss me furball?"

Puffing up his fur, the feline preened when Astrid carded her fingers through his grey coat, scratching behind his ears. The bushy tail with a chunk of fur missing out of it (Eret the cat had had that as long as Eret the human could remember) flicked lazily, but eventually he decided to greet his old companion and leapt from Astrid to Eret.

His huge blue eyes sort of reminded him of Astrid's, now he thought about it. Or maybe Astrid's reminded him of Eret's, and that's why he liked them so much. Skullcrusher was snuffling about the place, roaring laughter when the ships crew leapt out of his way.

"Stormfly, you may not eat the cat."

"Bah, don't worry about this little guy, he can take care of himself. Renemver this ship used to hold a dozen or so dragons sometimes and he was never locked up."

Apparently deciding he was never to be separated from Eret again, Eret, cat of Eret decided to wriggle down his vest and set up home there.

"So... are you staying here with us?"

"Ah, no. We came to get the ship and take it back to Berk. You can stay and move on, or you can come... right?"

Astrid nodded, confirming what Hiccup had said to Eret but he felt it prudent to check.

No-Name had already decided to move on, having had quite enough of dragons and adventures and Eret didn't blame him. The rest stayed on, though somewhat nervously as the dragons prepared to bed down for the night on the ship.

"It'll take us near two days to pull this back, but quicker than just letting the boat do it. You men do what ya gotta do, we leave at first light."

Astrid accepted Eret's invitation to sleep in his cabin, but the doors were ajar so she could see Stormfly sleeping just outside it with Skullcrusher. Eret wasn't planning to try anything, but it still made his crew chuckle.

He had expected the boat to feel more homely, but now Eret found himself itching to get back to _Berk._

-HTTYD-

 **Eret, cat of Eret!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Having written an outrageous amount of Hiccstrid the last few days, time for some Eret love.**

 **If you missed the warning; there's a Hicretstrid undertone through this so there'll be moments with both Hiccup _and_ Astrid that are maybe erring past friendship, but only Astrid's been with him much lately. If it's more than a hint, I'll warn in advance.**

-HTTYD-

Eret woke with Astrid burrowed in against him again, apparently so used to sleeping with Hiccup that she did it unconsciously. The cat currently pawing his belly was Eret's reason for waking up, his smoky grey pest wanting attention. Eret reached out to pet him, settling the cat immediately. Astrid stirred soon after, yawning sweetly before smiling up at the cat.

"Hey you cute thing. Sorry, I have a new favourite Eret."

Eret chuckled, watching Eret, cat of Eret wriggle down to where Astrid could reach to pet him too.

"Attention whore furball."

"Mew."

"Where's the bathroom in this ship?"

"I wouldn't if I were you. Wait two minutes, I'll take you to the outhouse in port."

Astrid huffed, rolling away and stretching as she stood up.

"Will they mind the dragons?"

"Some might, but it's early. So long as they stay close, we should be alright."

"Let's get going. I'm hungry and bursting to pee."

Eret awkwardly adjusted his baggy bottoms over his morning wood, hoping if Astrid had noticed she knew it happened to most guys most mornings. If Hiccup spent his nights with Astrid, he couldn't imagine she was unfamiliar with the concept. She yawned again, putting her shoulder pads and arm gear back on while Eret wrangled Eret down onto the bed.

"You'll be coming back with us, but just stay there while we pop out ok? I'll bring you some chicken."

Finally the pesky critter settled back down, curling up in the centre of sleep-warmed bedding Astrid could no longer pack up right now. The crew weren't even up yet, Ug asleep in his usual hammock spot right below the hole that led down to the lower level of the ship; he liked to know the weather as soon as possible.

Stepping down the gangplank quietly wasn't easy, especially with a Rumblehorn. Astrid practically danced with relief when Eret pointed her to the communal outhouse, waiting outside with the dragons while she took her turn. They traded, then headed to one of Eret's favourite spots for an early breakfast. A hearty mix of fish cakes and fried potatoes later, they were both satisfied and he spent a couple of coins on fish for Skullcrusher and chicken for Eret and Stormfly.

"Are you trying to win over my dragon?"

Astrid smirked at him, stroking her Nadder's scaly chin.

"Thanking her for coming on this super long trip. Plus I needed chicken for Eret."

"You kidding? Stormfly loves a good long trip to new places."

By the time they got back to the ship the crew were up, blundering about sleepily and jumping when Skullcrusher knocked over a barrel trying to hunt down a cabin rat. From the crunching sound, he was successful. A couple hours later, everyone was ready to go and the dragons politely allowed Eret and Astrid to carefully loop rope at the base of their tails, where it wouldn't hurt them or impede their flying.

"Ready to go?"

Astrid asked, and Eret knew what his answer was instantly.

"Lets go home."

The crew yelped in surprise when the dragons took off, pulling the ship along faster than even the strongest winds. Apparently, every trained dragon and rider had some practice in pulling ships, in case of trouble with fishing boats. They stopped when the wind was good enough to give the dragons a rest - they had no chance of making the trip in a day anyway.

They found an anchor spot near an island the dragons could go hunting on, Stormfly coming back with a boar for Eret and his men to prepare and cook while Astrid sat playing with his cat. They all ate well that night, clearly the beginning of his crew coming around to dragons. It probably helped that the scariest thing Skullcrusher did was accidentally break a box, and Stormfly was the one who caught them dinner and lit the fire that kept them warm.

"So, how is life with the dragon riders Eret, son of Eret?"

Ug asked, the two men sharing a pipe smoke that night as they stared up at the moonlit sky.

"Honestly? Amazing. I mean, sometimes you turn around and there's five thousand pounds of fire breathing lizard behind you and you forget they won't hurt you but... Skullcrusher there is like my best friend, and some don't like me much but the Chief is on board with it."

"The Chief of Berk? The big guy?"

He forgot his crew hadn't been there for the battle.

"Oh. No. Drago killed him... his son is chief now. And the Dragon Thief? His _mom._ She's one of the ones who doesn't like me much, but Hiccup asked me to take care of Skullcrusher and she won't argue with her boy on that."

Blowing out a cloud of smoke, he coughed slightly; nobody really smoked on Berk and he hadn't had the free time to enjoy it working for Drago. Ug took the pipe back, thinking.

"And we're still going to dock there?"

"At the behest of the Chief. Look, they are willing to take us on there as long as we pitch in and don't cause trouble. And of course-"

Astrid's voice cut him off, appearing from the cabins below.

"Dont fight with dragons. Eret, your cat is refusing to let me sleep. Get your ass in here."

Ug waved him off, citing the late hour and Eret hopped down, following a sleep-rumpled Astrid back to his cabin. Sure enough, the cat was attempting to harass Astrid by padding about Eret's spot repeatedly. As soon as the man laid down, his cat curled up on his chest, purring.

"Asshole cat."

Astrid went back to her sleep position, drifting off next to him and smiling to herself about whatever dreams came along. Eret struggled to fall asleep, already missing the smell of Berk in his lungs and Hiccup's morning clumsiness, the look of fear in the chief's eyes whenever his girlfriend or mother offered to feed him.

Eventually they were back on the go, aiming to hit Berk by nightfall. They passed the day with laughs - Astrid agreed to spar with the sailors, and they _clearly_ underestimated her. She absolutely slaughtered them, then started offering them tips on parrying blows.

"We're almost there. I can't wait to see my man's stupid face again."

Astrid looked seriously close to hopping on her dragon and flying the last stretch, but she was obviously the bridge between boat crew and Berk residents and wouldn't leave them to awkwardly dock without her.

Hiccup was waiting on the docks for them, and Astrid practically flung herself at her boyfriend who took the embrace happily.

"Gods, I missed you Astrid."

"Missed you too babe."

"You miss me chief?"

Hiccup chuckled, arms still around Astrid as he smiled at Eret.

"Certainly did. This your crew? We were never formally introduced with the dragon-napping."

Eret caught Valka leant against the wall of the cliffs by the docks, watching silently and the crew obviously realised who she was, even if they didn't necessarily recognise her face as she had always been masked.

A wriggle in his vest got Eret's attention, his cats head popping out to investigate his new homeland. He peeked around, big blue eyes landing on Valka and he leapt out, scampering past Hiccup and Astrid to spring upward into Valka's surprised arms.

"Oh. Hello. Who are you little one?"

"Valka, this is Eret's cat. Eret, cat of Eret. Yes, really."

Astrid explained, and Valka raised an eyebrow at the grey ball of hair making itself quite comfortable in her arms.

"He's also an asshole. Kept stopping me sleeping!"

Hiccup laughed, kissing Astrid's cheek again and looking so thrilled to have her back it made Eret's heart spasm. He wanted someone who looked at him like _that._

Well, someone other than his cat.

-HTTYD-

 **The bravest cat in the Archipelago, climbing all over the dragon lady!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Guest - I had been updating all that day with no trouble, through the website. However, if I have trouble through that, the newest version of the FF app has capabilities for it too. (I couldn't answer you any other way as you're anonymous)**

 **Lee - I think everyone loves the cat!**

 **YaAz97 - glad you liked it!**

-HTTYD-

"You want me to _what?_ "

Hiccup was insane, Eret decided.

"Train your crew to be friends with dragons. I've seen you with Skullcrusher, you're ready for this, and they need this to integrate on Berk properly! There's more dragons than Vikings here."

"I... I don't know how."

"You think I did? Start small. Introduce them to the Terrible Terrors. Since you think of them as basically cats with wings."

Damnit, Astrid had sold him out on that one.

"Alright. I'll give it a shot. Please don't tell everyone, we don't need an audience."

Hiccup chuckled, nudging Eret's shoulder with his own and grinning as he headed off. Eret turned to watch him go, the man looking a little less swamped by his chief-cloak thing now. It wasn't a different size, nor was Hiccup but he was slowly learning to fill his place. He was growing into a chief after it being thrown at him brutally fast.

"Ok crew... we're off to Dragon Training."

"What, us?"

"Yep. Chief's orders, you guys need to learn to live with them. Don't worry, you aren't starting with anything terrifying. And... leave your weapons on the ship."

That second ask was a tough sell, but eventually he got them off the boat unarmed. They walked warily through Berk with him up to the Academy, and Eret knew there we're plenty of citizens who didn't like that they were wandering Berk unsupervised. Skullcrusher stayed firmly at his side, curling up to nap when they reached the otherwise empty academy.

"Wait, are you teaching us?"

"Yeah. The chief thinks I'll get through to you better."

Ug blinked, and Teeny looked rather unsure himself. Eret had never felt so outnumbered by only two. He had taught them to be trappers... Now he had to unteach that.

"Alright. Terrible Terrors. These guys use them to send mail, as you might have seen when I wrote to you with one."

He popped open the crate, hearing Skullcrusher laugh when he was suddenly covered in Terrors.

"Eret, son of Eret!"

"Relax Teeny, they aren't hurting me."

Through the tails and wings flapping around his vision, Eret could just about see his crew trying not to laugh as Eret became a huge, man-shaped toy to the Terrors.

"Ok, who wants to go first?"

"Not it."

"Not it."

Both crew immediately answered, but Eret merely chuckled.

"I wasn't asking you."

Sneaky (Astrid's turquoise) and Sharpshot (Hiccup's green) both scampered down to the ground, walking over to the two newcomers, sniffing and nipping their not-standard-Berkian boots. Both stood stock still, umming and ahhing as they were investigated by the cat-like dragons.

"Pick them up. If they bite, you did it wrong."

Ug marshalled the nerve to do it first, reaching down and suddenly finding himself with an armful of Sharpshot, who draped himself comfortably and chirped.

"Go on Teeny, your turn."

Teeny reached a little only to recoil when Sneaky looked up at his hand. Eret sighed, brushing the other Terrors off him for a second and grabbing hold of Sneaky. He dumped the dragon in a protesting set of arms, but once Sneaky licked his scruffy face Teeny was putty in the dragons talons.

It wasn't exactly getting them flying a temperamental Monstrous Nightmare, but it was a start.

-HTTYD-

 **I felt like Eret needed a minute where he wasn't following around like a lost puppy. So... Teacher Eret!**


	7. Chapter 7

**always need more Eret appreciation.**

-HTTYD-

"Where have you gotten to you pesky little furball?"

Eret knelt down to check under the furniture in the Haddock home, finding no trace of his cat. When he got back up, Valka had walked into the room and lo and behold, there was the little moggy looking cosy in her arms."

"I've been looking everywhere for you, you fish-stealing menace."

"I sincerely hope you are talking to the cat."

So used to Valka barely even acknowledging him, Eret was surprised to find her actually talking directly to him.

"Well I doubt you were out stealing fish from Bucket and Mulch. I had to hide from Whip and Lash!"

His cat flicked his tail, purring innocently. Valka stroked his grey fur, clearly on the side of the feline.

"I'm sure he meant no harm. He was just hungry, weren't you little one?"

Eret, cat of Eret mewled, leaving Eret, son of Eret bemused.

"Tell that to the Zippleback on my ass. I'm guessing you're happy to keep him company?"

"Most definitely. Come on little one, lets go see Cloudjumper."

And with that, Valka swept from the house still holding the cat. Eret watched them go, somewhat stunned into silence.

"Eret? What was all the noise?"

Hiccup descended the stairs, hair mussed and clothes a little askew. Astrid's similarly disheveled appearance had Eret really not wanting to know.

"Oh, sorry chief. I was looking for my cat. Then your mom cat-napped him."

"Riiiight. So... lunch?"

"You may want to clean yourselves up a little. You're a little obvious at the minute."

The couple shared a look, then looked each other up and down.

"He may have a point."

"Yeah. You can wait here if you don't wanna go alone Eret."

He was ashamed to admit relief - Eret still didn't love going to the Meade Hall alone. He could do it if he had to, but still felt eyes on him every time he did so. It was getting better, but while Eret felt like he belonged with Berk, he was waiting to belong _to_ Berk.

"I'll wait outside."

Skullcrusher huffed when Eret went back outside, bumping his leg with one large head.

"Are you feeling left out since my cat got to Berk? I'm sorry buddy."

The Rumblehorn roared happily when Eret scratched the softer scales right behind his diamond-hard head. Nobody had told him; Eret learned a dragons soft spot all by himself. Hiccup and Astrid came out a couple of minutes later, finding Eret and Skullcrusher rolling on the ground playfighting. Teeny was watching them from the square, a Terrible Terror perched on top of his new helmet - only Valka and Astrid seemed to get away with fur and hoods on Berk.

"Seems like you and your crew are starting to get the hang of this. After lunch I want you working on them with bigger dragons, it's all well and good them playing with Terrors but they can't ride one."

"You want them riding dragons?"

Hiccup nodded, indicating where Eret had a playful Rumblehorn paw on his chest.

"I think the best way to know they can live with dragons is for them to find their new best friend. Look at you two."

Skullcrusher dragon-chuckled roughly, ragging his rider gently on the ground.

"Fair point. He is something special."

"So... go introduce them to a couple of Gronckles, maybe a juvenile Nightmare. Hel, introduce them to some Zipplebacks if you think they'll ride together."

Eret shuddered.

"No Zipplebacks. Not after this morning."

Astrid laughed, hauling Eret to his feet.

"Ok. Lunch."

They headed up to the Hall, Hiccup laughing when his mother appeared with the cat still on her shoulder, Cloudjumper giving the furry pest a wary look.

"I think her dragon sees my cat as an appetiser."

"Don't worry, Cloudjumper would never attack something mom is holding."

Hiccup chuckled, watching as the cat sat on the table and helped himself to a grilled fish from Eret's plate.

"Oh, so you love me again? Or you just don't want Cloudjumper defending his riders food?"

The cat mewed, bumped Eret's jaw with his soft head and then leapt onto Astrid. He was such a greedy little attention seeker.

"I'm sorry he's such a pest."

Eret the cat growled, flicking his tail petulantly.

"Don't be silly, he's adorable. We hardly ever get cats on Berk, they relocated to the Swamp Isles when the dragons started showing up. Then when Hiccup dealt with the Red Death, they all moved in. So this little guy" Astrid scratched behind his ears "is practically a celebrity."

Eret smiled, glad he could at least bring something to Berk that didn't make Valka want to gut him slowly.

"I'm done, I better go find Ug and Teeny if there's dragon training to be done. You, mister" Eret tapped the cats head "stop antagnosing the dragons. These are the good guys."

Teeny he found easily, perched outside watching the dragons mill about the place. Eating at the feeding station, going to the Forge for dentistry or just taking a bath in the dragon wash.

"You seen Ug? It's dragon class time."

"Not since just after breakfast. He went for a walk in the logging woods. You know how he is on land."

Eret twisted around, casting a glance toward the woods.

"Alone. I hope he remembers the wild dragons aren't against us anymore. We better go look for him, no point just me and you."

Teeny nodded, standing up and stretching before panicking when Eret climbed onto Skullcrusher.

"Uh..."

"It's much faster. And I promise he's not going to throw you off... unless you hurt him. Look, come here."

Eret climbed off his dragon, then pulled Teeny up close.

"Just... like this. Let them get your scent, and try to stay relaxed."

Teeny stared as Eret held his hand to Skullcrusher's snout, watching the scaled nostrils flare before he leant up into his hand. Eret couldn't help smiling at the connection.

"Ok Teeny, you're up."

"I-I uh... I'm not sure about this."

"Just try it. He's not going to hurt you."

Teeny trembled, holding out a shaking hand and whimpering when Skullcrusher nosed at his palm, sniffing. Then the Rumblehorn pressed his face in properly, a look of wonder transforming Teeny's face.

"I'm alive? I'm alive!"

"See, he's alright right? Now come on, we gotta find Ug. You can show off your new trick."

Teeny managed to climb up this time, though he was clinging to Eret like a giant squid the second the dragon took off. Out of the corner of his eye, Eret had seen them.

Hiccup, Astrid and Valka watching him get Teeny to do 'the hand thing'. He hoped he'd done it right, otherwise they would now be laughing at him. Patting the side of his dragon, Eret steered them over to the logging paths and tried to ignore Teeny occasionally letting out scared little peeps. He was no natural born rider, that was clear.

-HTTYD-

 **Eret and Skullcrusher is one of those things I really want to see in HTTYD3. So cute!**


	8. Chapter 8

**No excuses, I completely forgot about this while drowning in one shot requests.**

 **Sorry Eret!**

-HTTYD-

"Relax Teeny. Skullcrusher isn't gonna throw you off."

"I wanna believe you Eret, I do but- whoa!"

Skullcrusher picked the wrong instance to do a sharp turn, prompting Teeny to cling on even tighter. Eret almost couldn't breathe.

"He's ok Teeny! Just doing his thing. He's not used to having two riders."

"C-can we get down now?"

"Nope. The sooner I teach someone else dragons are ok, and by someone I mean _you,_ the easier us living here is gonna be."

"That's fine and all but I think I'm gonna hurl."

"Pretend we're on a boat. You never get seasick. Slow down a little Skullcrusher? Or we'll both need a bath."

Skullcrusher huffed but complied, gliding much slower through the air until Teeny stopped groaning behind him. When he first saw Vikings on dragons, he had thought them _mad._

Now Eret couldn't believe he had missed out for so long. Spying the logging area, he gestured to the dragon.

"Don't freak, we're gonna land. Landing is a little rough on this guy."

Skullcrusher took them down, a bit of a jolt when they landed on his hefty body but he always tried to compensate. Teeny slid off on shaky legs, but he looked almost-alright all things considered. Eret patted the Rumblehorn in gratitude, smiling when the dragon nuzzled at him while being mindful of the big horn.

Eyeing the surrounding trees, Eret went for simple.

"Ug!"

There was a bit of an echo, but eventually a voice returned.

"Eret!"

Ug came out from between the trees, only flinching lightly when Skullcrusher turned in the direction of a new human to sniff at it.

"I got Teeny on my dragon. Which isn't as bad as it sounds!"

The other two laughed, Skullcrusher huffing as he thought they were laughing at him. Eret patted his side reassuringly.

"Don't worry buddy, wasn't a joke about you. Thanks for bringing us out here."

"I told you I'm not the only one who calls their dragon bud or buddy. You're so dramatic mom."

"I am not!"

The Haddock duo plus Astrid landed around them, looking eerily like they were being boxed in until the dismounted dragons shuffled over to greet Skullcrusher. Minus Cloudjumper, who stayed at Valka's side.

"Everything alright?"

" _Someone"_ Astrid looked pointedly at her boyfriend "was worried about you flying with a passenger. So he insisted on checking and, well, I just wanted to fly."

Eret didn't ask about Valka. She didn't trust him. She came to keep an eye on him since he had the dragon and her sons attention.

"Skullcrusher did great. Teeny not so much."

"Hey!"

"He was going half speed and you almost threw up!"

"It was high! I'm a sailor not a bird!"

He rolled his eyes and playfully shoved his friend, finding himself on the receiving end of a 'hug' from Stormfly. Astrid laughed, leaning into Hiccups side comfortably.

"Oh look, you made a friend! She probably wants you to play fetch again. Hardly anyone ever does it for her and she gets bored of me."

"She does not."

"Who knows my dragon better babe? Me or you?"

Hiccup promptly shut up. Eret looked for something, feeling a little silly as he threw a hefty stick. Stormfly cantered after it, returning with a happy squawk as she dropped the small log at Eret's feet.

"That's not what I threw!"

The others fell about laughing, but Eret picked up the log and tossed it as hard as he could. Stormfly ran off after it, taking a minute to come back.

 _With a felled tree._

"It's not a contest!"

Eret didn't try and throw it. For one, he couldn't lift it alone. And two, he was worried Stormfly would come back with a log cabin or something. The others laughed as he tried to pacify the Nadder with affection since he couldn't continue the game. She turned to resume playing with the Rumblehorn and Night Fury when she realised he wasn't throwing again.

"I thought Nadders were good at welding not forestry."

Astrid winked.

"My girls talented, what can I say?"

Eret was glad everyone got a little distracted by the dragons rolling around, so they didn't see Astrid flustering him slightly. Hiccup was watching him out of the corner of his eye, but if he noticed he said nothing.

They went back after a while - Hiccup kindly offered Ug a ride, though he was immensely dubious about getting on the back of the dragon that took down Drago and his Bewilderbeast. Eventually coaxed on, Eret could hear his exhilarated yells from where he and Skullcrusher were flying Teeny at a more sedate pace.

A familiar bundle of scruff leapt into Eret's arms, the cat making a big fuss of him and Eret knew exactly why - it wasn't affection he was after.

"I'm guessing someone's hungry and hasn't worked out how to get into the dragon feeding stations yet?"

The grey furball mewled, pawing Eret's face and reminding him he was due a shave as he scraped across stubble.

"There's some fish in the hut, come on in."

Eret followed, cat hopping down when Hiccup opened the fish barrel lid. Valka was the one to end up hand feeding the most spoilt quadraped on the island (except maybe Fishlegs' Gronckle), though Eret knew she had a soft spot for his cat. He followed Hiccup to his desk, being offered the chance to look at some of the chiefs drawings and plans for all sorts of inventions.

Quietly, they could hear Valka singing to Eret, cat of Eret. It was a little odd.

"The sky is dark, and the hills are white,

As the Storm King speeds from the north tonight..."

Hiccup smiled fondly to himself, though he didn't turn around. Having only heard in passing from Hiccup about his mothers singing, Eret found himself quite enjoying the sound of her voice. Living with tone deaf pirates and noisy dragons... it wasn't often he had heard a soft voice croon like that.

It sort of reminded him of his mother. What he could remember of an age with lullabies before bed, that was.

"Sleep, sleep, little one sleep..."

-HTTYD-

 **I looked up Heather's lullaby and found it was based on a book of old Norse stuff so I figured it wasn't outside the realm of possibility other people would know it.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I love Eret and I'm sorry I'm always forgetting to update this in a timely manner.**

-HTTYD-

"This is not a good idea!"

Eret chuckled, knowing full well they were being watched. It was his job to integrate his crew into Berk after all.

"Relax Teeny, this is the ultimate beginner dragon. Right Splash?"

Splash was a juvenile, runt-of-the-litter Scauldron rescued by Valka. He was unlikely to ever get much bigger than he was, which was a body the size of a hefty yak. Teeny could be around dragons with riders, but wild dragons still made him automatically reach for his sword. Splash wriggled in his spot in the water, grunting over at Skullcrusher and Eret was fairly sure they were laughing at Teeny.

"Ok, what do I do?"

Teeny marshalled his nerve, though his hands shook a little as Eret showed him the way Hiccup had taught him.

"Reach your hand out. If they look nervous, close your eyes and look away so they know it's not an attack."

"I don't think-"

"This is how the chief trained a Night Fury. Just... try. Splash won't hurt you."

It seemed to take a freaking age, but eventually Teeny touched the dragon. Splash nuzzled into the hand on his horned head, visibly smiling and wiggling his little water-pouch when Teeny patted him properly. That sound he made was quite familiar - it was the noise Snotlout made whenever a dragon other than Hookfang didn't immediately set him on fire.

"See? Not scary."

"You say that but can't a Scauldron blast melt the scales right off a Screaming Death?"

Eret hummed, then shrugged.

"So don't anger the dragon."

Teeny blinked, but Splash was butting his hand for more attention and he was distracted by that. Skullcrusher stamped his way over and rumbled happily when Eret gave him his own affections, patting the hefty scales and rubbing the itch behind his horn Skullcrusher couldn't quite reach.

"I know big fella. He's an idiot."

"Hey!"

"Focus on Splash, not me."

Teeny huffed but did as he was told, and Astrid and Hiccup gave Eret 'thumbs up' motions from where they were observing. Eret felt inordinately proud, even safe enough to leave Teeny to take himself back to the ship without being watched with Splash. Splash was friendly and never splashed hot unless asked - it saved lighting fires for bath time.

He sat at the table Astrid indicated to join her at in the Great Hall, watching Skullcrusher buddy up with Stormfly in the dragon corner to eat.

"You did good work out there. Teeny was giggling by the time Splash left for lunch."

"Yeah? That's good. He only laughs when he's real happy."

Biting into the chunks of mutton before him, Eret wiped his mouth and took a mouthful of ale. Astrid was easy company to eat with, with decorum only reserved for important feasts and meetings. Otherwise, she ate to fill the hunger and cared little for appearances.

"Counting down the days?"

Astrid smiled.

"That obvious huh?"

"Yep. Future Mrs Chief."

"Gods, that sounds weird. But you're right, I can't wait. Everything is calming down and life is settled. It's time."

Said chief appeared soon after, tiredly kissing his soon-to-be-wife before taking a hearty swallow of mead.

"Bucket and Mulch plus Zippleback equals frequent fires. Fixed the damage though."

That explained the soot on his hands and the smoky smell around Hiccup. He gave Eret a warm smile, then set hungrily in to the food pushed in front of him by his betrothed. They were perfect together, Eret acknowledged while ignoring any deeper thoughts on the matter.

"You got anything on today Eret?"

"Not that I know of? You got something for me chief?"

"Gobber could do with help in the forge, I had to send Gustav on a mission to give the poor guy a break."

Chuckling, Eret nodded in acceptance.

"You got it. I'm no swordsmith but I can do the heavy lifting and metal mixing stuff."

"Good man."

Done eating, Eret left the betrothed couple to eat in peace and enjoyed the brisk afternoon air as he walked over to the forge. Skullcrusher shuffled in and napped next to Grump, Gobber giving him the once over.

"I'm uh, Gustav's replacement. Chief said you could do with a hand."

Gobber actually laughed, pulling off his prosthetic hand.

"Aye, that little pain in the neck made a right mess. Can ye sort out the tool boxes for me?"

Gobber had always been good to him, and Eret liked his rough humour. Even if he didn't love the man's reticence for bath time. Maybe he would join in the next annual 'Gobber dunk' event. It got trickier every year apparently, as Gobber grew wise to their tricks.

"No problem."

Eret headed to the back, where it looked like Gustav had tossed every single object around in search for nothing in particular. Unsure what order Gobber usually kept them in, Eret went with matching all the tools together by use - hammers, chisels, smoothing stones and little daggers all neatly piled. He could hear Gobber singing outside.

"Well I got my axe and I got my mace

And I love my wife with the ugly face"

He supposed the song had to be one that everyone sang, as he was concretely certain Gobber had no interest in women and therefore was highly unlikely to take a wife.

Plus, it had to be a Berk thing. If Eret's father had ever said such a thing to his mother she would have taken an axe and chased him.

"I'm a Viking through and through-oooh-oooh!"

Eret could hear Skullcrusher snoring and the metal-on-metal of blacksmithing, had a task before him and nobody had suggested he be exiled for a while now. Life was pretty good.

-HTTYD-

 **Gobber is gay! Bucket and Mulch are gay! And nobody will tell me otherwise.**


End file.
